In this fresh and revealing biography of Leonard Bernstein, Barry Seldes examines the composer and conductor's career against the backdrop of Cold War America. Bernstein endured blacklisting by the State Department in 1950 and voluntary exile from the New York Philharmonic in 1951, ultimately signing a humiliating affidavit just to regain his passport, yet by the middle of the decade he made a triumphant return to the orchestra.

"Finally, a biography of Bernstein that does not merely chronicle his career but truly explains it. Barry Seldes argues most convincingly that Bernstein's life in music is bound up with his political perspective, and his creative commitments reflected his social ones. What emerges from this meticulously researched, engagingly written, and utterly fascinating account is a richer, truer portrait of an important American composer, conductor, and citizen."—Elizabeth Bergman

"The book's greatest value ... lies not simply in shedding new and more nuanced light on the story of 'Our Lenny,' but in its consistent demonstration—in accordance with Bernstein's own ideas—that any attempt to separate the musical sphere from the moral and political comes at an unconscionably high price."—Economist (London)